A Different World
by vainya
Summary: Two of my favorite characters in Kingdom Hearts have always been Zexion and Vexen and I've always had my views on what their lives were like before the whole apprenticeship thing and even a little of what that was like. I might edit for inconsistency.
1. 1

Today it was snowing. The reports had said that it would be a good foot or so of snow. What would have been most little ten year-olds' dream was nothing to little Ienzo who sat in the middle of the floor immersed in a book. Snow meant absolutely nothing to him because he had always stayed in the house.

His blue-gray hair was long and his bangs brushed slightly over his eyes covering half his face. It was much too long for his mother's taste and she often yelled at him about it but then she yelled and screamed about everything. Ienzo sighed and went to the window. It had been broken in three places due to the fact that his mother had thrown something through it previous. Like yelling and screaming she always threw things as well. This was especially done during his parents' many fights.

Ienzo moved closer to the broken glass, touching it first with his hands and then reaching out of it. The glass cut his wrists slightly and he pulled back with a yelp of pain. This reaction is similar to dipping one's hands in boiling hot water. The reason for having done the previous action was so that he could feel the snow accumulate on his hands. For at this age most boys were curious and Ienzo was no exception despite his super intelligence. For at the age of ten he was already gracing the seventh grade. This he considered his own personal achievement. He wanted to disprove his parents whenever they said that he was their little mistake. He was not their mistake and he just wanted to impress. That was his only purpose in life.

The sound of footsteps mingled with voices came closer growing louder as they came. Ienzo jumped to the door, listening beneath the bedroom door. The voices completely inaudible, until he could pick up the tiny hint of the words "How dare you?!" screamed by his mother who obviously smashed something against the wall. Then there was his father's deep calm voice "What are you talking about I did nothing." His mother was obviously angry at something or another. The smallest things always got her angry.

The voices were growing faint now and all Ienzo could pick up was "Nothing, oh, that's the problem." This was obviously said by his mother before the far off sound of a door slamming could be heard. Ienzo rolled over away from the door. He got up and closed the shutters of the broken window where snow had started to pour in. He then sat under his bed, closed off from everything and everyone, alone in the dark quietness.


	2. 2

A shrill cry could be heard in an adjacent room. "Good gods is it crying again?" said a small voice awakening in the dark of the night. It was winter but they had yet to see the first snow. This disappointed the ten year-old greatly who wanted nothing more than to play in the snow outside, for the house itself was boring. Sure the house was huge; its nine bedrooms, two kitchens, and five bathrooms were a beautiful sight, but its architecture made the house feel empty and isolated.

The family had grown bigger almost overnight. His sister had been born a month before. It was enough to make him think of all the reasons why his parents would do such a thing to him. It was not as if he had deserved it. No it was simply his parents' fault for having a child after ten years of failure. Sure his mother had tried hard to produce a daughter for her rich husband. This in itself had stressed her greatly and he couldn't see why it was that she kept trying anyway. But she had done it, produced another child, this time a daughter.

The boy snorted at the obvious cooing the nurse was doing to the child now in the other bedroom trying to get her back to sleep. When the baby had finally stopped the boy was fully awake. He hated this. Night, after sleepless night it was always the same. Why couldn't they move elsewhere? After all he needed his sleep.

The night was cool, crisp; he liked it, the cold. He thought of this as he opened the window letting the cool breeze of the night in. The night in itself was still. There was a glassy blanket seemingly thrown on top of the town that they overlooked. He hated that town, especially the school. How dare his parents make him suffer the punishment of sending him to regular school with regular children? Among those that were less fortune, there was to him absolutely no way.

But there was and this was reality. He was there and he made the best of it even if that meant that everyone should suffer as much as he had. He talked, picked fights, and did unpleasant things to those that he just felt were unworthy and deserved it. He was in fact well known in school more so because of his bad achievements than his good ones.

He sighed heavily moving his attention to the starscape that was painted on his ceiling. Attention came to those that earned it, whether it is positive or negative. He was sure to have earned it in the most pleasurable way possible. He was now remembering all of his past deeds and the ones he planned to do in the future and with that thought he crawled back into his bed and feel into a deep, cold sleep.


	3. 3

There was an endless pile of boxes; the pile being so tall that Ienzo couldn't see over it and had to literally climb over it to get to anywhere in the house. Besides the arguments of where his father had been all night or where the money in the household had been spent there was excitement in the air. Spring crept upon the sleepy town as quietly as the rising sun.

This was it; he was going back to his birthplace. Back to where it all began. His mother had been assigned to teach in Japan for the upcoming school year in April. This was the only place he loved, the only place where he felt he belonged. No one dared pointed out how smart he was or no one dared picked at the oddity he called his first name. The fact that he was faceless, nameless and that nobody cared, he enjoyed that.

Those last few weeks in school were the absolute worst. His teachers kept talking about how they would miss him and the fact that everyone was calling him teacher's pet pierced his mind painfully. He wanted badly to leave everything behind.

Four years would be enough time to lie low in the grass, to be unnoticed; to be untouched. His parents seemed to have gotten along better in Japan. Things were never as they were here… in this place. Ienzo's moment of bliss was interrupted by a high-pitched cry "Ienzo, what are you doing? Are you daydreaming again!? Wake up and make yourself useful, we've got a lot of cargo to ship!"

"Coming mother." was all Ienzo could manage, struggling against the height of the boxes. "I am so short then why do they continuously pile boxes on top of boxes? Do they seriously expect me to move all of this?" Ienzo said to himself.

The idea had hit him clean across the face. With that he just pushed the boxes over, keeping the explanation in his head of why some unknown dish had broken. Then with all his strength he slid the boxes across the length of the apartment; landing them in a neat pile by the door. He continued to do this all day and part of the night, pausing only to eat, until the slowly diminishing pile of boxes was completely moved elsewhere. He counted and then counted again. That was good enough. His mother wouldn't bother him tonight so he went back to his room thinking of all the fun he was going to have now.

The lush Japanese green was overwhelming and Ienzo now eleven years of age had to restrain himself from attaching to the airplane window. It had been six years since the last time he was here. Even now as the plane landed he already felt as if he belonged.


	4. 4

Even tapped his fingers restlessly on the desk. As if the school day couldn't be any longer. It was snowing heavily outside the school window and all he could think about was getting out so that out so that he could push everyone off i his /i snow and lie in it. His parents wouldn't be coming to get him today with –

"Even!" a far off voice shouted piecing his thought pattern.

"Um yes." Even said back coldly but with a tinge of annoyance in his voice.

"The answer to the problem?"

Even looked up. There was an odd mixture of numbers, symbols, and triangles on the board. The teacher had called on him because she knew he was not paying any attention to the lesson. "Um..." he started. There was an air of tension as the class was waiting for a likely mess up so that the result would have them laughing.

"Well if you're not going to--" the teacher started but was interrupted.

"The answer is either four or -16."Even said finally smirking as if he had known all along.

"Well I find it impressive that you have found both answers but –" the teacher started again.

"Given the nature of this problem, in theory the answer cannot be negative. Therefore, the answer has to be four. Even said and the room was silent again.

"Impressive, all that brainpower and you choose to waste it." The teacher replied obviously implying that his answer was correct.

Even smirked. "Oh but whatever do you mean by 'wasted brainpower'? I think finding ways to torture a person is a i valid /i purpose for my 'brainpower 'usage."

Obviously disgusted by his response all the teacher could say was the word "Detention."

Satisfied enough by the events that had just occurred Even went back to his work… staring out of the window at the falling snow that seemed to be growing farther and farther away from him.

For someone like Even, detention was no stranger. In fact he had been thrown in detention numerous times for "saying just a little too much." Today in particular he was joined by a red haired girl. She seemed to be the silent sort and was kind of cute. He sat back in his chair as he watched her 'do lines.'

"So, he whispered coolly to her, what's a pretty girl like you in here for?" There was no reply. He figured that she was ignoring him as most people do. Yet he had not seen her before so either she was not in his year or she was new, either way she did look younger than him.

"I—she started to say after a long silence and it was easy to tell that she was in tears. —did something terrible."

Even smiled. "Now it couldn't have been that bad." Yes she was definitely younger and this was definitely easy. At this point in time he felt the need to hold her, hug her, or something, but he quickly shook that idea off remembering that they i were /i in detention.

It was well after six before even made his way back home through the snow; the girl's number securely in his pocket. He had scored another one of his many catches.


	5. 5

It had been two years; nothing had changed. That was the problem, sameness was boring. It was always harder to walk in sand than any other substance in the world. It was hot and there was the distant sound of waves crashing. Clad in his summer uniform, Ienzo was ready to watch for whatever dangers lie ahead at sea.

Today in particular Ienzo just happened to be watching. A lifeguard's job wasn't as glamorous as he thought it would be, but it was summer and his mother refused to give him any money. Resorting to this was the only thing he could do. Ienzo never really had to save someone, no matter how great the situation he was never needed.

Ienzo looked down; the gulls were raiding someone's picnic. It was a shame what humans were doing to their natural environment. Wait what was he thinking? A horde of them had attacked him two years prior. It made him shiver thinking about it. Even now it still gave him nightmares.

The waves were calm, deep blue in color, in fact so blue that they almost looked black. This was save for the white foam that that rose and fell with the tide. Depending on how you looked at it, the foam could be either your last defense or your savior. It was then that Ienzo felt like doing the unthinkable, closing his eyes for a second.

When at last he opened his eyes, the scenery had changed. A nasty wind was blowing and the sky was a cloudy gray. He could hear nearby the other lifeguards, yelling and their whistles blowing. Obviously he was not needed or else they would have called for –

There was a shrill scream and Ienzo looked out to see where it was coming from. Out in the water there was a tiny spot waving around. No one saw her but him and naturally he jumped in to the rescue. "It's too dangerous!" He could hear his co-workers called to him. Were they serious, this would be fun.

The cool darkness touched his feet and soon the light was nowhere to be found. He swam, keeping his eye on the target. He had reached her and held on to her tight. She calmed down on impulse but then tensed up again. A huge wave was coming for them. He and the girl tried to move as close to the shore as possible but the wave had taken them.

It was dark and instead of drowning there was no water here but yet it felt like he could not breathe. He had no name and he was forgetting everything. Then out of seemingly out of nowhere there was a voice:

Such a brave heart.

A strong heart yet filled with darkness. He will be quite useful to us.

The voice laughed and then another voice spoke up:

He's smart, extremely smart. It would be a shame to waste such talent.

There was a long moment of silence and then another voice spoke up:

But not now. His heart is so unsettled. There will be time. Oh so much time.

Ienzo had not noticed this time that his eyes were closed but when he opened them he was on the beach; familiar face standing over him.

"That was crazy, you alright?" one of the faces said.

Ienzo sat up. "The girl where's the" – he started but was interrupted by another of the faces.

"She's gone; we couldn't save her."

At this point Ienzo could do nothing but scream. This was way too much for a boy of his age to handle. For the first time in a while he cried. He wanted to be perfect, to make everything right even if it meant his death ultimately in the end.

It was cold. But still there was no fresh powder. There was just the snow from the last snowstorm. Even, for once was having company. There was the sprawling land and hills he had on his property that all the other children longed to play on. He had told his parents that he would go out only after he had finished his chores or as he called it, "cleaning up the mess his three year old sister made." Almost the whole school was coming, not to mention an array of girlfriends he had dumped over the past few years. Oh this was going to be fun.

Even could hear the distant giggling of the children coming, prepared for the hilly terrain. There were make-shift sleds, tubes, and all sorts of items, most he knew not what they were. Even liked hiding and he wanted to make his friends work to find him. He could hear in the distance his mother calling "Even, your friends have arrived." After that of course came the squeal of children came all yelling his name at the same time.

Even was actually lying flat on his stomach in the middle of the family's frozen lake. The thick ice felt good beneath him and it was supportive. He heard footsteps coming toward him and then a hand from nowhere reached out.

"I've found you! Now come join us. It will be fun." The voice said. Even then looked up at the purple-haired girl reaching out. Even got up, grabbed her hand and followed her to the highest hill where she and a few boys were sledding.

The hilly landscape looked different from how it did last winter. In fact the hill seemed to have gotten bigger. Even though this was Even's property, he rarely played on it for he had not the same desires as other children his age. But today he was trying something new. These games were nothing short of boring but they were inventive. It was amazing what young minds could come up with in such a short time.

He watched as a group of boys mounted the sled and slid down the hill screaming. It must have been exhilarating. Even was still reluctant to try and waited three more times before they were finally able to get him to mount the sled. It felt funny. So uncomfortably funny that it was kind of annoying, and then in an instant he was off. At first it wasn't so bad and then it sped up. It was quite a thrilling moment until Even remembered he didn't know how to steer. Instead of landing safely at the end, the terrain changed and Even ended up flying off … literally. It was fine while he was flying but once he hit the bottom; everything went dark.

This was a different type of darkness. It was not like clicking off a light switch it was a darkness that filled every part of you, robbing you of your memory. It slowly filled the gaps, taking over who and what you are. There was no use fighting it for it had totally engulfed you. Even stayed in this state of darkness for what seemed like hours. Then there was a brightness, something far away that he longed to touch. But something else was pulling him away from his goal; pulling him slowly back to life.

He felt wet and cold all over. He had no clue who these hands and faces were around him. The only thing he knew was that he had to have a piece of that light. Whatever it was.


	6. 6

"No." and with that came the sound of shifting papers. "No" the voice said again, this time loud enough to be heard over the noise. 

"But you have to pick one sweetie." a woman's voice spoke up.

"I'm going to be entering college at fifteen with junior status. Can't my choices be at least worth it?" the first voice said.

"But these are worth it, sweetie. They are the most prestigious in the world."

"I don't know about that, they seem empty and for all I know there's probably not a thing taught at any of these places."

"Don't you think that you are over-thinking this Ienzo?" 

"Maybe, but to over-think is much better than not thinking at all." 

Ienzo was bombarded with letters from colleges and universities day after day. There was not a school that did not want him there. Who wouldn't want a child prodigy? Someone that young just seemed great for their reputation. That was all they cared about, never mind how Ienzo felt. 

That was the point, sure he wanted study with the best and brightest, he was one after all but there was much more to that. There has to be a passion. But there was no passion here at this place and to think, his parents still owned this dump. 

It was truly because of this piece of property that Ienzo parents decided not to divorce. At this point they had resolved to sleeping in separate bedrooms. This benefited Ienzo because he now had a much larger space to perform his small homebrew experiments.

Ever since that day he tried to save the girl and heard the voices he wondered what was out there. What iwas/i all this talk about hearts and looming darkness? 

He watched his parents fall in and out of love. They were his experiment and under his control. Sometimes he left them alone and let them do as they wished and other times he would throw something in. He would take something valuable and hide it knowing that the two of them would blame each other and a fight would ensue. He also knew what made them "love" each other as well. No one knew where the random gifts came from. They just claimed them as their own and an odd moment of love would follow. 

There was no doubt that Ienzo would be a scientist but his professors soon learned that he was not the normal definition of a good student when it came to his work. Once he had finally picked a school his professors were baffled at how he either showed up to class late or skipped them all together. He was a huge procrastinator and often spent long nights and weekends in the labs at the very last minute completing assignments. 

He was often the one who snapped back at his professors wondering why he had to add two kilograms into the solution instead of four and arguing over what would have been ieasier/i for him. What's worse was that most of Ienzo's alternative ways were indeed right. 

His fellow classmates were in awe of Ienzo's talent while his professors were irritated and determined to prove him wrong.

"So in theory balancing this equation would equal what—Ienzo?" Ienzo at the point that the professor had asked was busy drawing in his notes. 

The professor then cleared his throat. "Ienzo I need an answer from you." He was sure that he had him now. 

Ienzo glanced at the problem that he was supposed to solve it was covering the whole board. "Four." he said and went back to his drawing. 

"That is," the professor sighed, "absolutely correct." 

There was an inward moment of triumph that Ienzo had in crushing his professors' hopes every time that happened. The heart was such an advanced and unknown territory and he had to explore it any way he could. 

A year passed and it was near the end of torture for Ienzo. Really, who cared why Helium was lighter than air or why asymptotes always reached the ever so imaginary infinity? He had better things to study, people and emotions are a much better subject. Well actually people and emotions did share a striking resemblance to asymptotes. They never reached an honest agreement with each other. They just live to reach for a positive or negative ending that was really imaginary. Nothing that they worked for was concrete.

Why do some people choose to live out their fantasies even though they know they aren't real? That was what Ienzo constantly wondered. He really wanted to find out. So that was what he did. He spent hours upon hours in libraries looking for source material on the psychological mind. His bits of logic and curiosity made for great discoveries no matter how small. He had often gotten in trouble for not returning the books on time and when he did finally return the books it was always in a mangled mess. The librarians hated him for his disregard in the books he borrowed conditions but he really didn't care. 

He poured over every book he borrowed, not just for his class work but for his own research as well. He was so immersed in his independent research that little by little his class work was starting to suffer. He'd make it up and barely get his assignments in on time. His heart just wasn't in his studies. His heart was in other's hearts and the research that he was performing. There was always something interesting to find out everyday.

So when the day finally came to do his senior thesis Ienzo knew exactly what to do. He was going to compile his research into something he had been dying to present. However, he still could not determine whether the heart was completely physical or was it something that one could feel. Was a heart unique only to humans?

This and there was a boatload of other questions that Ienzo pondered all the way until the day before the project was due. He sat at a table in the library on that day, behind a stack of books creating his very first draft of his thesis. The library was empty, no doubt because everyone else had finished their papers by now and was ready for presentation and somewhere asleep. 

But Ienzo liked to do things at the last minute there was less confusion and the quietness was great for the aspiring mind.

The day grew later and the "bang" that was required at the end of papers was always a problem, but he hated an open-ending. This paper needed a one page closing or he would finally decide on an open-end it would have to be a good open-close. It seemed as if all the proof had been presented and all the explanations had been made. What more was needed?

"How can people go on for volumes on this stuff? They must be extremely great at making up lies and illusions." Ienzo said as he sighed and decided to walk around the library for inspiration. 

The aisles were empty, that alone made it easy to take a walk among them and browse volumes by this person and that and genius after genius stacked neatly next to each other on the shelves. 

"I wonder if those people knew that someday all of their hard work and dedication would end up on a shelf in a university somewhere. The only purpose they serve is that college students can browse through them for low grade assignments." As Ienzo said this He noticed movement in the row next to him. Someone else was here. He raced over to the other side to see one of the girls that worked the late shift stacking more of the "geniuses" on shelves. Ienzo sighed and walked past the cart, but as he did this something on it caught his eye and he came rushing back to get it. He grabbed the book from its place and quietly went back to his seat at the table behind the books. 

The book was old; at least it seemed from the way the leather on the cover had been worn to the point of it tearing off. The cover itself had no words and by the looks of it there was never any on there. Instead, there was heart on it. The heart looked ghostly. It was pale blue the only bit of color on the ashy black surface of the cover. Ienzo opened the book. "Kingdom Hearts?" he said to himself as he began to read the first two pages.

He spent the next few hours browsing the book and writing down everything of interest to him, filling up the remaining page that was left in his thesis. He wrote the last word and closed the book. 

"Who would have known that someone else had thought to do the same research as I have?" Ienzo said looking at the book's front cover again. "Kingdom Hearts, a place where light and dark gather. It's like an endless factory of hearts. It's just as secret as the hearts that gather there. Still, some information is missing. I need to look at this book more closely." Ienzo said grabbing the book. "This one is coming with me." He took the book and left out of the library. The librarian just knew that they would not see that book again especially by the way they saw Ienzo grinning as he walked out. No one truly knew what was worse Ienzo when he was sulking or Ienzo when he was totally happy.

He spent most of the night immersed in the experiments of the heart shown in the book and about this kingdom that supposedly existed. It was quite an interesting and it really saved his paper, so he did owe the book at least a quick read. He finally was able to go to bed for the remainder of the night.

He awoke late the next morning as it was usual for him to do and he raced in the classroom to hand in the paper. Hopefully he had passed the class and was done with it. He hated writing; the thought process was different from that of numbers. Numbers were static, and even though they went on forever, they served a primary function and that was to count and compare. Words were so flexible and you always needed to choose them carefully.

He had the rest of the week free and mostly spent it proving and counter proving the arguments of the heart. If there was a calculation missing here or there he was able to provide it. He was able to prove and disprove their claims. By the time he had decided to return the book it was the end of the semester and the book was oddly unharmed. Instead of harming the book, the walls of his room were full of posters of very long drawn out diagrams and calculations. He did love to keep his calculations with him. 

The librarians were shocked at the book's condition and wondered what was so special about it. Why it was not torn to pieces already. They just decided to stare intensely at Ienzo as he skipped happily out of the library and to his next class. Hopefully that would be painless. 


	7. 7

7

It was funny how the rain fell. It rarely fell like a bucket pouring over the Earth, but more or less the raindrops picked where they wanted to fall. The first drops always took the best spots while leaving its lessers, the late comers to take up the remaining spots before the Earth becomes sodden and soggy.

Even liked watching this. To him it was an exercise in memory. The raindrops always seemed to remember their place and purpose in society. They remembered everything: how to fall, where to fall and to universally create puddles. Were raindrops really that that complex? Probably not, but it seemed to confirm questions in Even's mind about the workings of memory.

Even was now seventeen. He was fresh out of high school and a four year survivor of a near death accident that made him question and experiment with his own memory. He was often distant and never satisfied with life. He only cared about his experiments. He despised society but yet he was fascinated by it. He wanted a place to experiment without any bias or interference so he built his world in a vacuum.

A vacuum if you could call an attic room that. Since his family had purchased the house no one would ever dare go up there. He used to tell his sister that some scary monster lived up there. It was made of dust, dirt, and dreams. Every night he'd come down and take a peek at children's memories. His sister believed it and stayed clear of the area Even believed it and ventured up there.

There was to his surprise an old-fashioned laboratory up there. Whoever lived in this place had also been a scientist interested in memory. There were notebooks, textbooks, and volumes of books on memory. There were jars on the on the shelves and other old fashioned equipment. The jars once held animal remains, split brains, and all sorts of things that Even didn't know or didn't care to know about. Even turned his gaze to an old poster in the corner, so yellow and brown that it almost blended in with the wall. This poster had a picture of all the bumps on the brain. Even was amazed and overwhelmed at the extent of this research. Who would have thought that someone interested in the same thing as him resided in this very place?

On a desk, covered in dust and cobwebs was a notebook. This person must have died abruptly. The pages seemed yellow and ancient; crumpling under his fingers. The very last page was titled "Memories are Immortal".

"Memories are Immortal? What could that mean?" Even said as he closed the book to take with him to his room. Just moving the book seemed to disturb the natural peace of the room, but Even wanted to finish this person's research. Just then a voice yelled from downstairs:

"Even come down for dinner!" The voice belonged to his seven year old sister. He looked out of the window. It was indeed time to come down for dinner.

"Even, we need to talk, his father said as he sat down at the dinner table.

"Even, every college rejects you. Why? I don't understand. Your academics are impressive and yet you are so cold at your interviews. At this rate no one will want to accept you." His father said disgusted.

Even looked at his father. He had nothing to say. Everyone thought the same things about him. He was cold, he was weird. He always talked about memories and finding his light. They could think what they wanted, he thought he was brilliant.

"We can't allow you to stay upstairs doing who knows what kind of things, his father went on, and you nearly gave your mother a heart attack when she went to clean up there!"

"I told no one to go up there. I can handle the cleaning myself!" Even shot back.

"Well _I _have the right to know. This is _my_ house!"

Even got up. "Then maybe I should leave your house."

As Even said this he got up from the dinner table and went to the laboratory first before going to his room. He could hear his mother tell his father that maybe he had gone too far this time. Even didn't care. He knew what he meant; he would have to practice his experiments elsewhere. One thing was for sure he could not come back to this house. He packed what little belongings he had and he did not neglect to take "Immortal Memories" with him. He got into the car that he had gotten at his seventeenth birthday and drove off. He really had no place to go. He just wanted to drive around to clear his mind; he really did need a place to live.

Even did not have many but he did remember his friend Schera who had been the purple-haired girl that led him to his revelation four years before. To him she was the light and the darkness. He went to her apartment and knocked on her door. She answered:

"Even, what are you –"

"Schera, listen I just need a place to stay for the night. Even replied.

Schera smiled and let him in. She hasn't been able to get him out of the house ever since. She gave him the necessary room to grow and he continued his research for another two years.

"Hey Even, Schera said one day can you take me to my friend's house tonight?

"I don't know, I've been working the late shift at my new job and I'm pretty tired." Even replied.

"Come on! You'll have the house to yourself today." Schera added.

Even couldn't resist the idea of having the house to himself for the night, no matter how tired he was he grabbed the keys and left to take Schera to her friend's house.

Schera's friend lived about an hour away. She lived just off the major highway. Even didn't think it would be too bad. Schera's chatting could keep him up. She did chat… a lot. She talked about little things the weather, the day; the fact that she wanted to buy a cat but she knew even wouldn't let her have it unless he could experiment on it. Even learned to like Schera's mindless chatter; it seemed to relax him and take him to another place out of this world and out of this mind and body. He felt totally relaxed.

"Hey! Hey! Even! Watch out! "

Even woke up, just as he heard Schera shouting his name. The car jerked beneath him, but he could not stop the car in time. They were going to collide with the car in front.

Even braced himself for the impact as the car slid into the car in front when it was all over he looked over at Schera. She had banged her head against the dashboard pretty hard. This was yet another picture of her embedded in his memory. Why was she always the subject of his memories? This was all her fault; he didn't want to do this, no he couldn't blame her that was unfair.

He drifted off again to sleep. All around him was dark. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't be sleeping, and he couldn't feel a thing. He slipped deeply into darkness forgetting who he was. It was just like before. Again there was a blinding light and he opened his eyes. He was somewhere else.

"Where am I? Even asked.

"You've been in a bad accident." A familiar voice that he identified as his mother said.

"I know that. Where's Schera?" Even asked but there was no answer. He tried to remember her face, he happy expression, any of that but he could remember nothing, just her bruised and swollen face. He wanted to see her, he needed to know. Was she dead? What happened?

He wondered this as the doctors finished dressing his wounds and he was released. Later that week he went to see Schera. She smiled happily; looking around. She seemed to want his company, but yet dismiss it all at once.

"Look Schera I'm sorry about what happened. I really should have assessed the situation more. I should have taken all the factors into consideration." He said watching her confused expression.

She looked up at him with wondering eyes and asked "Who are you?"

It was then that Even realized that he was about to have his own memory experiment on his hands.


End file.
